Influences of Microbial Oxidation/Reduction on Mineral Transformation in Sulfide Tailings and Environmental Consequence in Shizishan Cu-Au Mine,Tongling, Eastern China

Mining activities have created great wealth, but they have also discharged large quantities of tailings. As an important source of heavy metal contamination, sulfide tailings are usually disposed of in open-air impoundments and thus are exposed to microbial oxidation. Microbial activities greatly enhance sulfide oxidation and result in the release of heavy metals and the precipitation of iron (oxy) hydroxides and sulfates. These secondary minerals in turn influence the mobility of dissolved metals and play important roles in the natural attenuation of heavy metals. Elucidating the microbe–mineral interactions in tailings will improve our understanding of the environmental consequence of mining activities.     

对重金属和辐射污染的土壤和地下水的微生物修复

由重金属和辐射产生的环境污染在世界范围内产生了一系列问题.利用特殊的微生物如金属还原和耐金属细菌对环境中的金属和辐射污染进行处理具有非常好的前景.现场的生物修复的成功应用将对清除污染环境中的重金属和辐射提供潜在方法.最近的研究还关注于了解在微生物群体内重金属和辐射对微生物的作用.生物毯和生物膜是在生物修复中具有代表性的两种微生物群落的机能.金属的种类和价态变化、转移过程以及微生物代谢作用是对金属和辐射生物修复的三种重要的组成部分.结合以上三方面,可以更好的了解自然中的微生物和生物修复过程之间的关系.     

金属硫化物微生物氧化的机制和效应

岩石露头和矿山废弃物中的金属硫化物在地表、近地表条件下的氧化作用往往导致多种环境问题,因此,金属硫化物的地表风化一直是备受关注的表生过程之一。越来越多的证据表明微生物对矿物的氧化在金属硫化物风化过程中发挥着重要作用。实验研究发现:微生物在金属硫化物表面附着并形成微生物膜,在矿物-微生物膜界面微环境中存在着强烈的微生物氧化和化学氧化作用,两种氧化作用相互协同、共同促进。在此过程中,金属硫化物的S、As、Fe等元素经历了复杂的电子传递、逐级氧化的动力学过程,最终形成稳定的高铁硫酸盐或氧化物,并形成大量的酸性排水。该过程受多种因素的影响,包括细菌种类、光照和溶液Fe~(2+)浓度等。金属硫化物的微生物氧化直接导致重金属大量释放和严重的环境危害,释放的酸性排水还引发碳酸盐矿物分解和CO_2排放,会对全球碳循环产生不可忽视的影响。在地球演化的早期阶段,金属硫化物氧化消耗大气氧气可能导致大氧化进程滞后。尽管关于金属硫化物-微生物相互作用研究取得了长足的进展,但金属硫化物微生物氧化的分子机制和全球尺度的元素地球化学循环还有待深入研究,原位纳米观测技术的引入和全球物质循环模型研究具有必要性和紧迫性,同时也对生物冶金技术的发展有着重要的意义。     

用微生物对单一碳源利用方法探讨重金属在城市土壤中积累的环境效应

Biolog研究表明，英国阿伯丁市城市土壤的微生物群落结构显著有别于农村土壤，并使微生物对碳源的消耗量增加，消耗速度加快。城市土壤中不仅重金属Cu,Pb,Zn,Ni的含量明显高于农村土壤，而且其化学形态的主成分分析表明，有效态Pb,Zn,Cu及有机态Ni和Cu是导致城市土壤区分于农村土壤的主要因子。相关性分析表明，Biolog的这种变化规律与重金属的上述化学形态密切相关；典型变量分析表明，重金属对城市土壤微生物群落结果的这种损伤具有长期性效应及不可恢复性。     

Effects of Heavy Metal Contamination on Microbial Biomass and Community Structure in Soils

Theeco environmentalpollutioncausedbyminingdevelopmentisaworldwideproblem ,whichhasarousedever increasingattentionofscientists.Inadditiontovegetationdestructionanderosionofcultivatedlanddirectlycausedbyminingdevelopment,scientistshaveplacedmorefocusontheenvironmentalproblemsinducedbythereleaseofharmfulsubstances ( particularlyheavymetals) .Especiallyundersurfaceconditions,thepiled upminewastes (minetailings)undergoweatheringundertheactionofaseriesofgeochemicalfactorssuchasthemineralogyofmineta…     

Biotechnological advances in bioremediation of heavy metals contaminated ecosystems: an overview with special reference to phytoremediation

The ability of heavy metals bioaccumulation to cause toxicity in biological systems—human, animals, microorganisms and plants—is an important issue for environmental health and safety. Recent biotechnological approaches for bioremediation include biomineralization (mineral synthesis by living organisms or biomaterials), biosorption (dead microbial and renewable agricultural biomass), phytostabilization (immobilization in plant roots), hyperaccumulation (exceptional metal concentration in plant shoots), dendroremediation (growing trees in polluted soils), biostimulation (stimulating living microbial population), rhizoremediation (plant and microbe), mycoremediation (stimulating living fungi/mycelial ultrafiltration), cyanoremediation (stimulating algal mass for remediation) and genoremediation (stimulating gene for remediation process). The adequate restoration of the environment requires cooperation, integration and assimilation of such biotechnological advances along with traditional and ethical wisdom to unravel the mystery of nature in the emerging field of bioremediation. This review highlights better understanding of the problems associated with the toxicity of heavy metals to the contaminated ecosystems and their viable, sustainable and eco-friendly bioremediation technologies, especially the mechanisms of phytoremediation of heavy metals along with some case studies in India and abroad. However, the challenges (biosafety assessment and genetic pollution) involved in adopting the new initiatives for cleaning-up the heavy metals-contaminated ecosystems from both ecological and greener point of view must not be ignored.     

Batch and continuous removal of heavy metals from industrial effluents using microbial consortia

Bio-removal of heavy metals, using microbial biomass, increasingly attracting scientific attention due to their significant role in purification of different types of wastewaters making it reusable. Heavy metals were reported to have a significant hazardous effect on human health, and while the conventional methods of removal were found to be insufficient; microbial biosorption was found to be the most suitable alternative. In this work, an immobilized microbial consortium was generated using Statistical Design of Experiment (DOE) as a robust method to screen the efficiency of the microbial isolates in heavy metal removal process. This is the first report of applying Statistical DOE to screen the efficacy of microbial isolates to remove heavy metals instead of screening normal variables. A mixture of bacterial biomass and fungal spores was used both in batch and continuous modes to remove Chromium and Iron ions from industrial effluents. Bakery yeast was applied as a positive control, and all the obtained biosorbent isolates showed more significant efficiency in heavy metal removal. In batch mode, the immobilized biomass was enclosed in a hanged tea bag-like cellulose membrane to facilitate the separation of the biosorbent from the treated solutions, which is one of the main challenges in applying microbial biosorption at large scale. The continuous flow removal was performed using fixed bed mini-bioreactor, and the process was optimized in terms of pH (6) and flow rates (1 ml/min) using Response Surface Methodology. The most potential biosorbent microbes were identified and characterized. The generated microbial consortia and process succeeded in the total removal of Chromium ions and more than half of Iron ions both from standard solutions and industrial effluents.     

Concentration distribution and assessment of heavy metals in sediments of mud area from inner continental shelf of the East China Sea

Heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Hg, and As), grain-size, pH, Eh, and total organic material (TOM and TN) of 59 surficial sediments of mud area from the inner continental shelf of the East China Sea have been analyzed. The relations of the heavy metals to sediment composition, pH, reduction/oxidation conditions and total organic materials were evaluated with multivariate statistics analysis, and the hydrodynamic conditions such as coastal current and Taiwan warm current are the other important controlling factors to the distribution of heavy metals. Sediment enrichment factors and potential ecological hazard index ( E_\textRI E_{\text{RI}} ) were used to assess the heavy metals accumulation; the results indicate that moderate contamination of most heavy metals is prevalent, and the contamination level in the estuary is rather high, which is mainly from anthropogenic source. Compared with other areas in China, the contaminant level of the study area is moderate.     

Biogeochemistry of landfill leachate plumes

The literature has been critically reviewed in order to assess the attenuation processes governing contaminants in leachate affected aquifers. Attenuation here refers to dilution, sorption, ion exchange, precipitation, redox reactions and degradation processes. With respect to contaminants, focus is on dissolved organic matter, xenobiotic organic compounds, inorganic macrocomponents as anions and cations, and heavy metals. Laboratory as well as field investigations are included. This review is an up-date of an earlier comprehensive review. The review shows that most leachate contamination plumes are relatively narrow and do not in terms of width exceed the width of the landfill. The concept of redox zones being present in the plume has been confirmed by the reported composition of the leachate contaminated groundwater at several landfills and constitutes an important framework for understanding the behavior of the contaminants in the plume as the leachate migrates away from the landfill. Diverse microbial communities have been identified in leachate plumes and are believed to be responsible for the redox processes. Dissolved organic C in the leachate, although it appears to be only slowly degradable when the volatile organic acids are gone, apparently acts as substrate for the microbial redox processes. Several xenobiotic organic compounds have been found to be degradable in leachate contaminated groundwater, but degradation rates under anaerobic redox conditions have only been determined in a few cases. Apparently, observations in actual plumes indicate more extensive degradation than has been documented in the laboratory. The behavior of cations in leachate plumes is strongly influenced by exchange with the sediment, although the sediment often is very coarse and sandy. Ammonium seems to be subject to anaerobic oxidation, but the mechanisms are not yet understood. Heavy metals do not seem to constitute a significant pollution problem at landfills, partly because the heavy metal concentrations in the leachate often are low, and partly because of strong attenuation by sorption and precipitation. Although complexation of heavy metals with dissolved organic matter is significant, the heavy metals are in most cases still strongly attenuated in leachate-polluted aquifers. The information available on attenuation processes has increased dramatically during the last 15 a, but the number of well-documented full scale leachate plumes are still few and primarily from sandy aquifers. Thus, the diversity of attenuation processes in leachate plumes is probably not yet fully understood. Apparently, the attenuation processes in leachate plumes may for many contaminants provide significant natural remediation, limiting the effects of the leachate on the groundwater to an area usually not exceeding 1000 m from the landfill.     

生物炭修复重金属污染土研究进展

随着城市化进程的加快及工业生产的迅速发展,土壤重金属污染日益加剧,对生态环境造成严重的危害。生物炭是缺氧或限氧条件下加热生物质制得的高度芳香化富含碳的固态物质,其在重金属污染土修复方面具有显著效果,受到广泛关注。基于近些年来国内外围绕生物炭修复重金属污染土所取得的研究成果,分别从生物炭的制备及性质、修复效果及其影响因素、修复机理等方面总结了该领域的研究现状及进展,取得如下主要认识:（1）生物炭具有价格低廉,修复效率高,改良土壤、环境友好等优势;（2）生物炭的理化性质主要受原材料和热解温度的影响,采用活化、磁化、氧化和消化等方法能改善生物炭的性质,提高修复效率;（3）生物炭对土壤中重金属迁移性和生物有效性的影响包括两个方面:固定重金属减少生物有效性或者迁移重金属增加生物有效性,后者可通过改性方法来降低重金属的迁移性和生物有效性;（4）生物炭对土体的固化效果一般,但可与其他固化材料共同使用,以改善土体的力学性质;（5）生物炭修复机理固定重金属的效果为:沉淀作用>络合作用>静电作用,离子交换>物理吸附。最后,针对该领域的研究现状,提出了未来的研究重点和方向,主要包括:建立划分生物炭的统一标准;探讨生物炭对多种重金属共同污染的修复效率;阐明生物炭吸附重金属的机理及其贡献率;扩大研究尺度;开展基于生物炭的固化试验及力学性质研究。     

Remediation of heavy metal-contaminated sediments by solid-bed bioleaching

 Weisse Elster River sediment from the Leipzig Lowlands region (Saxony, Germany) is anthropogenically polluted by heavy metals. Sediment dredged from a trap to the south of Leipzig was characterized in detail. When freshly dredged sediment contacts air, the material turns acidic because of oxidation processes, the heavy metals become soluble and the sediment poses an environmental risk. We are therefore developing a sediment-treatment process based on heavy metal removal by bioleaching. Leaching experiments were carried out in suspension and in the solid bed. The heavy metals were solubilized to nearly the same extent by H₂SO₄ dosage (pure chemical extraction) and addition of elemental sulphur (microbial oxidation of S⁰ to H₂SO₄). With increasing dosage of the leaching agent, Zn, Cd, Ni, Cu and Cr were more and more solubilized, whereas Pb was only dissolved in small amounts. The addition of 2% S⁰ is considered an optimum dosage. When 5% S⁰ was added to the sediment, the pH dropped to 1.76 and large amounts of undesirable compounds such as Ca, Al and Fe were solubilized. The higher the temperature, the faster the metals were solubilized in both suspension and the solid bed. The temperature optimum for activating the indigenous S⁰-oxidizing microbes of the sediment lies between 30 and 40  °C. Conditioning of freshly dredged sediment with plants makes it suitable for solid-bed leaching; the kinetics of heavy metal solubilization from sediment conditioned for 6 months with Phragmites australis was the same as from long-term stored sediment. Received: 26 November 1999 · Accepted: 5 May 2000     

Correlations between heavy metals and organic carbon extracted by dry oxidation procedure in urban roadside soils

The organic fraction in soils has a significant influence on heavy metal transport. In this study, the organic carbon content was measured by dry oxidation procedure from 21 Xuzhou urban roadside soils to assess the relationships between the concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cr) and the amount of organic carbon. The anthropogenic heavy metals (e.g. Pb, Cu, Zn) were strongly correlated with organic carbon (denoted by C_org−c) extracted by dry oxidation while natural heavy metal (e.g. Cr) showed no correlation to the C_org−c. The anthropogenic heavy metals were also strongly correlated with the amount of the total carbon. These results show that the anthropogenic heavy metals are mainly enriched in the organic matter in the Xuzhou urban roadside soils.     

Vermiculite bio-barriers for Cu and Zn remediation: an eco-friendly approach for freshwater and sediments protection

The increase in heavy metal contamination in freshwater systems causes serious environmental problems in most industrialized countries, and the effort to find eco-friendly techniques for reducing water and sediment contamination is fundamental for environmental protection. Permeable barriers made of natural clays can be used as low-cost and eco-friendly materials for adsorbing heavy metals from water solution and thus reducing the sediment contamination. This study discusses the application of permeable barriers made of vermiculite clay for heavy metals remediation at the interface between water and sediments and investigates the possibility to increase their efficiency by loading the vermiculite surface with a microbial biofilm of Pseudomonas putida, which is well known to be a heavy metal accumulator. Some batch assays were performed to verify the uptake capacity of two systems and their adsorption kinetics, and the results indicated that the vermiculite bio-barrier system had a higher removal capacity than the vermiculite barrier (+34.4 and 22.8 % for Cu and Zn, respectively). Moreover, the presence of P. putida biofilm strongly contributed to fasten the kinetics of metals adsorption onto vermiculite sheets. In open-system conditions, the presence of a vermiculite barrier at the interface between water and sediment could reduce the sediment contamination up to 20 and 23 % for Cu and Zn, respectively, highlighting the efficiency of these eco-friendly materials for environmental applications. Nevertheless, the contribution of microbial biofilm in open-system setup should be optimized, and some important considerations about biofilm attachment in a continuous-flow system have been discussed.     

Oxidation and Mineralization of Mn2+ Ions Mediated by Pseudomonas putida: Insights from an Experimental Study

The formation of manganese oxides in nature is commonly mediated by microorganisms.In this study,the mineralization of biogenic manganese oxidation mediated by Pseudomanas putida has been experimentally investigated by employing various characterization techniques,including SEM,FESEM,TEM,XRD,and STXM-NEXAFS.The results indicate that Mn~(2+) ions can be oxidized into Mn(Ⅳ) minerals(birnessite and pyrolusite) and Mn(Ⅲ) minerals(hausmannite and feitknechtite),successively.The primary products(birnessite and pyrolusite) further transformed into hausmannite and feitknechtite under Mn~(2+) ion-enriched conditions.However,birnessite and pyrolusite are the endproducts of the continuous microbial oxidation processes.These biogenic Mn oxides are poorly crystallized,which provides them with a high potential for usage in environmental restoration of contaminated soils and waters contaminated with heavy metals.The approaches employed in this study will also enrich genesis research of biological oxidation of Mn(Ⅱ) species in nature.     

Accumulation of heavy metals in Oostriku peat bog,Estonia: -site description,conceptual modelling and geochemical modelling of the source of the metals

Oxidation of sulphides leads to the dissolution of metals, which are transported with water and accumulate at geochemical barriers. Such barriers can form in peat bogs. This paper gives an introduction into the long-term processes in Oostriku peat bog where high accumulations of heavy metals are observed. Peat and water samples are analysed for Fe, As and heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) using different methods. A concept is based on the observations. Metals are leached by sulphide oxidation in the carbonate rocks upstream of the peat. The water feeds the peat from below. The metals are sorbed and precipitated in the peat. The sulphide oxidation is simulated to examine the origin and metal speciation in the water. The simulated solution is compared with the groundwater entering the peat. The results showed a fair agreement for the major constituents. There were considerable differences for species with low concentrations.     

Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Heavy Metals in Pearl River Delta Quaternary Boreholes

This paper analyzed contents and geochemical fractions of four heavy metals in four Quaternary boreholes from different sedimentary areas in Pearl River Delta. The results revealed that the geochemical features of heavy metals were controlled by geological provenance and sedimentary environment. The contribution rates of geological sources showed differentiation in four sedimentary environments. In delta plain sedimentary environment, geological sources were the most predominant. In the sea land interaction sedimentary environment, the control of the geological source factor was weakened. The effect of land-sea interaction became more important. Due to different chemical properties of heavy metals, they showed distinct sensitivities to sedimentary environment. Cadmium (Cd) was enriched significantly in the study areas. Mobile fraction of Cd possessed the highest proportion. Potential ecological risk of Cadmium was the highest among heavy metals. Asenic, mercury and lead were enriched weakly. Arsenic and Mercury were dominated by residual fraction. Lead was mainly composed of residual and Fe-Mn oxidation fraction. Their potential ecological risks were relatively lower. In different sedimentary environment, physicochemical parameters had various effects on Cadmium geochemical fraction such as pH. The mobile fraction of Cd was mainly correlated with pH and leaching coefficient.     

骨炭钝化含黄铁矿多重金属尾矿的研究

钝化处理被广泛应用于含重金属尾矿的处理,可以从源头上防止酸矿废水(AMD)的产生,寻找一种价廉易得且对环境危害小的钝化剂十分必要。本文主要研究在骨炭作用下,用pH值为4的双氧水对黄铁矿进行氧化,探讨骨炭对黄铁矿氧化释放重金属的钝化作用。实验结果表明,添加不同含量的骨炭(分别为0.5、2.5和5 g)能将溶液的pH值分别提高到8.93、10.01和10.42,表明骨炭具有较强的中和能力,同时黄铁矿氧化释放的Pb、Zn和Cd等重金属离子浓度明显地降低。但当骨炭含量超过2.5 g时,对As有促进释放的趋势。红外光谱分析显示钝化后黄铁矿样品位于420、563、603、1 044、1 091 cm~(-1)处的特征峰主要来自PO_4~(3-)的振动,XRD进一步揭示了黄铁矿表面主要含磷次生矿物是磷铁矿和羟磷铁铅石,这些次生矿物对重金属钝化起着重要作用。因此,骨炭有望作为钝化含多重金属尾矿的钝化剂。     

Spatial distribution,mineralogy, and weathering of heavy metals in soils along zinc-concentrate ground transportation routes: implication for assessing heavy metal sources

We investigated the source of heavy metals in soils at a site in South Korea, where a ground transportation of zinc-concentrates (ZnS, sphalerite) occurs daily. Seventy soil samples were collected at the site and analyzed for residual concentrations of heavy metals, as well as their chemical and mineralogical properties. Enrichment factor was calculated based on local geochemical background level of metals in soils and confirmed the contamination of soils in the area by an anthropogenic source. The concentration data were also subjected to a Pearson correlation analysis to determine the possible influences of anthropogenic sources and identify the primary source. A slight negative correlation between heavy metals and Al, and a weak correlation between heavy metals and Fe implied that the heavy metals originated from anthropogenic inputs rather than a geogenic source. A strong positive linear correlation between Zn and other heavy metals (i.e., As, Cd, Cu, Pb, r ≥ 0.96, p ≤ 0.001) suggested the influence of a single anthropogenic source of zinc-concentrates containing all of these heavy metals. Zinc-concentrate oxidation and leaching experiments, which mimicked physical and chemical weathering in the environment, indicated that zinc-concentrate could be transformed to zinc oxides and release Cd and Pb upon precipitation. The findings in this study provide an insight into the fate of the Zn that the original form of zinc-concentrate would not remain in the soil after long-term weathering, which should be considered when source of heavy metals is identified.     

Evaluation of fertility indicators associated with arsenic-contaminated paddy fields soil

Emerging environmental issues related to heavy metal contamination in rice draw great concern about the soil quality of paddy farming lands irrigated with groundwater. Investigating the functioning of soil microorganisms exposed to heavy metal contamination is imperative for agricultural soil manipulations. The current study accentuates the influence of heavy metals on microbial activity and community composition in arable soil of West Bengal State of India. The result revealed that the fertility indicators (activity of all soil enzymes) and growth-limiting factors (soil N and P) were negatively correlated with the heavy metal stress except the soil total organic content which demonstrated significant positive correlation with the heavy metals. In case of functional diversity of soil, all the considered diversity indices exhibited no specific pattern along with the availability of heavy metals. Further, despite the heavy metal contamination, we observed a very complex and indifferent pattern of bacterial community composition along the heavy metal contamination sites. Overall, we found that γ-Proteobacteria had been the most abundant bacterial community followed by Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, β-Proteobacteria and α-Proteobacteria. Commemorating all the results, we can infer that arsenic and other heavy metal contamination is deteriorating the soil quality and hence warrants immediate attention of concerned soil scientist and agronomists.     

Comparative plant growth promoting traits and distribution of rhizobacteria associated with heavy metals in contaminated soils

The heavy metals at high concentration are generally toxic to the plants for their metabolism and growth; therefore, interactions among metals, rhizosphere microbes and plants have attracted attention because of the biotechnological potential of microorganisms for metal removal directly from contaminated soils or the possible transference of them to the plants. The aim of this study was to compare the relationships between the physiological in vitro characteristics of rhizobacteria isolated from plant metal accumulators and their distribution relating with the heavy metals content in contaminated soils. The results of this study showed that the heavy metals present in the rhizosphere of the plant species analyzed, decrease the microbial biomass and content of heavy metals caused a different distribution of rhizobacteria found. Gram negative rhizobacteria (90 %) and gram positive rhizobacteria (10 %) were isolated; all of them are metal-resistant rhizobacteria and 50 % of the isolated rhizobacteria possess both traits: higher indol acetic acid and siderophore producers. The inoculation with these rhizosphere microorganisms that possess metal-tolerating ability and plant growth promoting activities, can be recommended with a practical importance for both metal-contaminated environment and plant growth promotion.